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Should I hire an evaluator for every Colorado home I'm interested in?
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You could, but evaluations typically cost between $250 and $500. If you
got an evaluation every time you thought you were interested in a home,
you could go broke sooner than you can say "bankrupt". When you find a
Colorado property
you are interested in,
you can do some preliminary research to verify you are comfortable with
the price. If your research proves effective, go ahead and write an offer.
Your offer should include a contingency that the property must be appraised.
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By waiting until you've written an offer, you don't risk spending money
on an evaluation while some other buyer swoops in and purchases the home
right out from under you!
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I trust my Colorado Realtor implicitly, but I can't help but second guess
his/her opinion of price. After all, the higher the price I pay, the higher
my Realtor's commission.
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You're right about the commission -- but first -- any Realtor worth his/her
salt realizes that a satisfied customer is worth 100 times more than a
couple hundred extra bucks in commission. If you are truly concerned your
agent will talk you into paying too much for a home for their own benefit,
you should seriously consider if that is the best agent for you to be
working with. Second, since it is your money, no one should be deciding
what a home is worth except you. You can certainly rely on your Realtor's
opinion on price, but you should look at his/her research, as well as do
some on your own. Any buyer who relies solely on someone else's
evaluation figures
without "checking their work"
could easily fall victim to getting sold some very expensive "swampland in Florida".
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Have your Colorado Realtor use Automated Homefinder's
free home evaluation tool,
and compare notes with him/her using that same tool. (or better yet, have
your Realtor provide you with comps, have them use the evaluation tool on
their own, you use it on your own, and compare results!)
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Also, check out Zillow.com.
Although you get out of it what you put into it (and it takes only about 30
seconds of work), you won't want to hang your hat on that tool alone, but
it is yet another benchmark for you to discuss with your Realtor. Compare
Zillow & AHA. |
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What are typical home evaluation fees?
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That all depends on what you intend to do with the evaluation, and how
in-depth it needs to be. If you are doing a refinance or taking out a
home-equity loan, a "drive-by evaluation" may be all that is needed. Drive
by evaluations are just that – the evaluator drives by the home, compares
it to several others, and gives a value (or more likely, gives an opinion
that the home is worth at least what you are trying to borrow) Drive by
evaluations typically cost between $100 and $200 and can be done very quickly.
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Your lender may require you to do a full evaluation – in which case the
evaluator would visit the inside of the home, take pictures, make note
of the condition of the property, and then compare to 3 to 5 other "comps".
In Colorado, full evaluations typically cost between $300 and $500, and
can take a week or two before being completed.
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How can I guarantee I am getting the best deal possible on the Colorado
home for sale that I am considering buying?
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Unfortunately, there is never a guarantee. The best you can do is to do
your homework, and do as much homework as possible! Make sure you have
a Realtor you trust, a good attorney as well as a trustworthy lender.
They all will be able to help you make as informed a decision as possible.
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As far as researching values, have your Realtor use Automated Homefinder's
free home analysis tool at http://www.automatedhomefinder.com/evaluation,
and compare notes with him/her using that same tool. (Better yet, have
your Realtor provide you with comps, have them use the evaluation tool on
their own, you use it on your own, and compare results after you've each
filled in the questionnaire!)
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Also, check out Zillow.com.
Although you get out of it what you put into it (and it takes only about 30
seconds of work), you won't want to hang your hat on that tool alone.
However, it is yet another benchmark for you to discuss with your Realtor.
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I'm a Realtor, and I want to use your evaluation tool to research properties.
Do you allow that?
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Absolutely! In fact, you're welcome to link to it from your website so
your customers can use it too! Information is power, and by giving your
buyers access to this valuable resource, you can help them feel more confident
that the real estate you are helping them buy is worth what they're paying
for it.
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Keep in mind that although this tool was designed with
Colorado real estate
in mind, the principles are
universal, and can be applied in any market. If you ever disagree with any
of the adjustments made, you can simply correct them using the manual adjustments section.
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To link to our evaluation tool, simply use the following code:
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<a href="http://www.automatedhomefinder.com/evaluation/?source=RealtorLink">Free Home Evaluation Tool</a>
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